


To Stay Awake For You

by InfectiousKpop



Series: Imaginings [6]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Inspired by Real Events, Leaving Home, Light Angst, M/M, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 13:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7935775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfectiousKpop/pseuds/InfectiousKpop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jackson's leaving for China. Mark wants to stay awake so he can say goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Stay Awake For You

Jackson sighed, stuffing a few more things into his bag before zipping it up and heading out to the living room. The dorms being completely silent at 7:30 in the evening wasn’t exactly a surprise, especially after such an intense day of preparations. Between dance practice, photo shoots and vocal training, the others fell asleep almost immediately after they got home. Mark tried his best to stay awake, despite his eyes falling closed every other minute. 

The pair had already decided that Jackson needed to keep Mark awake for as long as possible. The older desperately wanted to be awake and say goodbye before the other had to fly off to China again, but he was also the weakest when it came to falling asleep. Immediately when they got home, Jackson asked the older to pick out some clothes for him while he ran through the shower. 

He came out a few minutes later, towel wrapped tight around his waist. Mark, who’d positioned himself in a sitting position on the floor of their old room, back resting against the frame of their bunk beds, sleepy ran his eyes over Jackson’s half-naked torso. Jackson could’ve sworn he saw a little hunger flare up in the older’s eyes. He just chuckled and turned his attention to the clothes tossed on top of the mess on his bed, a little surprised by what he saw. Every single piece Mark picked out was black. The boy who always badgered him to wear more colors had decided to dress him in all black.

He pulled on the oversized t-shirt and fitted jeans, tucking in the front to show off the shining buckle of his belt. “You look good,” Mark muttered as he watched the younger get dressed.

“Don’t I always look good?” Jackson asked, wiggling his eyebrows as he slipped on all his jewelry.

“Yeah, but you look especially good now,” Mark replied. He got to his feet, moving over to stand behind the younger, and rested his head on Jackson’s shoulder. “This style looks good on you.”

Jackson knew the fitted-but-not-too-tight look was Mark’s favorite on him. The time during their “If You Do” promotions had driven the older boy insane sometimes. But Jackson had a tendency to fall back into his comfortable, extra-baggy style without even realizing it until someone pointed it out to him again.

“Let’s go sit down before you fall asleep on me,” he suggested, turning his head to glance at Mark’s smooth profile. The older nodded quietly and pushed away from Jackson, heading out into the living room. They sat on the couch, going over their schedules for the next few days just one more time, both of them pretending that it didn’t hurt a little to get separated again. With all the practice they had thanks to Jackson’s hectic filming schedules these days, they could almost fool themselves into thinking it didn’t ache at all.

When it finally came time for Jackson to gather up the last few things he needed before he had to leave, he knew the older wouldn’t stay awake. Sure enough, when he returned to the living room, he found Mark curled up in the corner of the couch, caramel brown hair falling carelessly over his face. Jackson smirked, putting his bag down quietly before making his way over to crouch in front of his boyfriend. How he could look so good even when he was asleep always amazed Jackson. Part of him wanted to wake the boy up, to hear him sleepily whisper his name one more time before he had to leave. But a larger part of him didn’t want to disturb him. He looked so peaceful, it would be a crime to wake him up.

Carefully lifting his hand up to hover over the older’s head, Jackson brushed away a strand of the loose locks to uncover his boyfriend’s forehead. He pressed a quick peck on the exposed skin, making sure not to jostle the sleeping boy awake. “I love you,” he whispered. Mark probably didn’t even hear him, but Jackson didn’t care. They didn’t need to hear each other say it these days to know that they loved each other.

Taking one last moment to just watch Mark’s chest rise and fall ever so slightly, Jackson pushed himself to his feet, collected his bags and walked down to the van that was waiting downstairs. He could’ve easily stayed there and admired the other all night, but he couldn’t miss his flight.  _ It’s the last filming session _ , he kept telling himself.  _ After this, all the traveling will be done for a little while.  _ He wasn’t exactly sure how true that was, but in times like these, it didn’t matter. Helping dull the ache that he felt when they were separated was his primary objective.

On the ride to the airport, he made sure to send Mark a quick text, just in case the other didn’t wake up before his flight left.

_ I didn’t want to wake you since you’ve got an early day tomorrow, so goodnight. Sleep well. I’ll see you soon. _

They didn’t send each other sweet nothings and little ‘I Love You’s like most couples. The couldn’t, really. The threat of someone somehow seeing their messages and exposing them was too much of a risk. Besides, it just made them enjoy the time they had together that much more. They had to actually say all the cutesy one liners and romantic confessions to each other, face to face instead of through a screen.

He let his mind wander, reading every sign and billboard he could just to keep his mind away from the dorm. Pictures of his friends and acquaintances passed by on busses and screens attached to buildings. Being famous was one of those things that didn’t really hit you until you went out and realized that you knew most of the people that were plastered all over the city. Then it just felt surreal. He wondered if he’d ever get used to it all. Probably not.

As the car pulled up to the airport, cameras started to flash, trying to get a picture of Jackson before anyone could even see him. His fingers automatically moved up to his chest, running over the cool surface of the pendant hanging around his neck. They slowly moved from the necklace to the bracelets on either of his wrists, one smooth and fragile while the other was rutted and strong. Something about the feeling of the jewelry on his body calmed him, helped him face the shoving and the yelling and the crying. It reminded him of Mark, who was always seemed so disinterested in the attention they got when they were out and about. Part of him wished he could be like that sometimes. Maybe then the crowds wouldn’t shove him just to get a better picture.

Taking one last deep breath, he stepped out of the car, spreading a small smile on his face. The next half hour was a whirlwind of forced smiles and small nods, only getting a full moment’s rest when he fell into his seat on the plane. He shoved his wallet into the seatback pocket before shifting his attention to his phone. There were a few texts waiting for him, some from people finally deciding to reply back, a couple from Bam telling him a bad joke he’d just read on the internet, one from Jaebum reminding him to run through the choreography a couple times if he got the chance. None from Mark. He sighed, closing out of his texts and opening Instagram. Skimming through the various hashtags always managed to keep him occupied for a while. Pictures of him arriving at the airport less than an hour ago flooded the tags, a few random pictures of the other members popping up here and there. Sometimes, Jackson swore he saw Jaebum and Jinyoung in his tag more than himself.

It only took him a few more seconds to see a picture of Mark. It was a shot from their concert, one that he’d seen before. Mark had been especially excited about it when he saw it a few days ago. Jackson grinned, taking in the sight of his boyfriend’s toned arms for another second before backing out to his main feed. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching him before pulling up the Markson tag. It was one of his favorite tags to look at, even if he didn’t look very often. When the twinge of separation hit, it helped make him feel better.

A few scrolls down, he came across a familiar video. He usually didn’t watch anything from their time on After School Club, since most of their time on the show had been dedicated to excessive fanservice. They didn’t really act like that with each other, all noisy and eccentric. But every now and then, they’d slipped out of their act, just being Mark and Jackson for a second. 

One of Jackson’s biggest insecurities back then had been that others thought he was annoying and just played along to humor him. All of the other GOT7 members knew how much he worried about it, so when a fan tweeted asking how Mark dealt with Jackson all the time, the older was immediately by his side, ready to comfort him. Most people hadn’t been able to tell that it was a slip on his part, that it was an instinctual move to comfort Jackson and not some silly gag they made up for the cameras. They’d covered it up well. It still remained one of Jackson’s favorite moments from their run on ASC, though, simply because of the sincerity behind Mark’s actions.

They’d grown up so much. The video was only from a year and a half ago, but so many things were different now. They’d gone through more than they ever expected to. They’d seen the highest highs and the lowest lows and just about everything in between. The doe-eyed, new kids in the industry act was over for them. They could never go back. Thinking about it, though, Jackson didn’t really want to. The naive, insecure debut days were fun while they lasted, but he liked where they were now. The group was stronger than ever before. Their fandom was growing by the hour. They were all earning enough money to save for a more than comfortable enough living when the time came.

Jackson hadn’t even realized how long he’d zoned out until the cabin lights dimmed and a calm, high-pitched voice told everyone that the plane was about to depart. He promptly shut off his phone, shoving it into his pocket, and adjusted a little so he was leaning against the window. He didn’t get the most restful sleep during flights, but it was a better way to spend the three hour trip than twiddling his thumbs. By the time they were in the air, he’d slipped into a fitful, dreamless sleep.

When his manager shook him awake, the plane had already landed and was moving toward the gate. He glanced over, shooting her a small smile as thanks. It was almost pitch black outside, with only the sporadic lights of the airport lighting the way. “Is it gonna be bad?” he asked. It was a question he asked every time he flew to China. The answer was always the same, but he asked anyway. “Just try not to encourage them too much this time. Okay?” The comment was in a joking tone, but Jackson knew that part of what she said was serious. He knew he egged them on more than she liked. But he couldn’t help it.

Just nodding in response, Jackson turned on his phone. He didn’t know what he expected, maybe a few Instagram notifications and some texts, but it certainly wasn’t the one, lonely Line notification that popped up. 

_ Call me when you can. I miss you. _

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, here's another imaginings in the book. This time, it's based off of someone seeing Jackson watching the ASC clip mentioned in the story on Instagram on his flight to China. This one got kinda rough for me at some points, just because I wasn't sure exactly where I wanted to go with everything, so let me know what you think in the comments. Also, if there's another Markson moment you think I should write a one shot for, let me know in the comments as well.


End file.
